U.S. and China Agree to New Public/Private Healthcare Partnership | China Briefing News

U.S. and China Agree to New Public/Private Healthcare Partnership

Jan. 20 – China and the United States announced a new public/private sector joint partnership yesterday focusing on the healthcare industry. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Commerce joined with China’s Ministries of Health and Commerce to announce their support for the establishment of the new organization.

“The economic and social development of any nation depends on the health and productivity of its people,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “This partnership builds on a strong foundation of bilateral cooperation in this critical sector of our economies.”

The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham-China) was an early proponent of this partnership on the U.S. side and applauds its establishment.

The Healthcare Partnership Program follows two highly successful, existing public/private partnerships that operate under AmCham-China’s umbrella, namely the Aviation Cooperation Program and the Energy Cooperation Program.

“The Healthcare Partnership Program is a milestone in U.S.-China cooperation in healthcare and will strengthen the contribution of U.S. companies to China’s healthcare reforms,” said AmCham-China Chairman Ted Dean. “Public/private partnerships like the Healthcare Partnership Program are important examples of how the two countries can come together for mutual benefit.”

The new public/private partnership was announced as part of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s official state visit to the United States this week. The Healthcare Partnership Program will be headquartered in AmCham-China’s Beijing office.

China Briefing broke the news of foreign investment being allowed into China’s healthcare and medical industries six weeks ago. Foreign investors may now establish WFOEs in the sector, our full overview of the applicable regulations are contained in our article “China to Allow Foreign Capital into Medical Organizations” and a translation of the regulations in this piece, “Foreign Investment WFOEs in China’s Medical Industry.”

Dezan Shira & Associates have been advising foreign manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies about establishing a presence in the China market, and obtaining the pertinent licenses, since 1992. Please contact the firm for legal and tax advice concerning investments into this industry at info@dezshira.com, or download the firm’s brochure here.

via china-briefing.com

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Zhou Xiaochuan breaths fire into US Treasury markets with bold proposal: SDRs and the fall of the Dollar as global reserve...

Cross posted from my blog The World We'll Inherit.

Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the Central Bank of China has called for an internationally endorsed shift away from the Dollar as the world's reserve currency "as soon as possible" in advance of the G20 Summit. Zhou urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to expand use of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and move toward a "super-sovereign reserve currency".

Special Drawing Rights are defined on the IMF website as "The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement the existing official reserves of member countries. SDRs are allocated to member countries in proportion to their IMF quotas. The SDR also serves as the unit of account of the IMF and some other international organizations. Its value is based on a basket of key international currencies."

This is a very radical idea and cannot be dismissed because (a) Zhou truly does hold the fate of the Dollar and the US economy in his back pocket; (b) the IMF Board of Governors has advocated expansion of the SDR allocations since 1997, with 131 members (77.7%) officially endorsing the proposal. 85% is needed to implement recommendations from the internal SDR review committee, which convenes every 5 years (next 2010). The US controls 16.75% of the total IMF vote, which granting the Obama administration de facto veto of all IMF resolutions. Zhou's plan called for additional currencies to be added to the basket used to value SDRs; encouraged SDRs to be accepted in international trade and investment so they can become established reserve; SDR denominated securities to be introduced. Obama has indicated he opposes any and all such measures.

It is hard to imagine the Dollar, the underlying grease that makes the world work smoothly for American businesses and politicians, is actually on the verge of becoming merely "part of the basket" as opposed to the peg to which each currency is valued. China is the largest holder of US debt and has tremendous leverage in the debate over the realignment of international currency regimes.

What is to prevent Beijing from coordinating a massive pooling of US debt holders in a Chinese managed international and developing market counter-part to the Federal Reserve? The collective Treasury holdings of the central banks in the 131 dissenting IMF member-states, Ivy Leagueuniversity endowments and personal fortunes of Billionaire philanthropists like Warren Buffettand Bill Gates alone would be enough to leverage a new mint for global reserve notes. It would be like stock-piling gold in Fort Knox to guarantee US debt to its creditors during the Depression (or at least I think it would be).

At what could have been a watershed in American history, Obama and his half-staffed Treasury have gone nearly 100 days in the opposite direction of the hopeful, Reagan-esque vision that candidate Obama was so widely praised for forging during his two-year campaign. The president has been either uncertain or unsatisfied with the qualifications of applicants for many critical bureaucratic appoints under his chief deputy Timothy Geithner. Perhaps Geithner is to blame for the lack of decisiveness within his department, but it matters very little for the freshman president with a HUGE to-do list. Regardless, these posts are critical for managing relations with foreign central banks and finance ministers and needed to be filled last-December.

Beijing ordered Zhou to make his aggressive proposal at a crucial moment for Tim Geithner, who had only begun to unveil their plans to combat the morgaged backed securities ailing the financial markets and clearly failed to fully ascertain the significance of Zhou's comments. Geithner was initially receptive and open to suggestions from Zhou, but his comments spurred a 4.2% decline in the Dollar across all currencies in less than 10 minutes. 15 minutes later he backtracked, and in his second press conference Obama reaffirmed the strength and long-term viability of the Dollar as the global reserve currency. Perhaps Geithner has yet to be briefed by his Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs on the concerns of Chinese policy-makers.

**I searched for photos of Secretary Geithner with the Zhou, and found none - though I did find dozens of candid snapshots of Geithner's predecessor Hank Paulson enjoying face-time with China's top banker. Perhaps Geithner should call on Paulson to fill the void while he continues to recruit his underlings...

2008 brings the reality of modern China to Western living rooms...

Image by kk+ via FlickrImage by kk+ via Flickr

For the last decade, China has been meticulously grooming its capital city, Beijing, for the curious eyes of eager Western consumers and potential business opportunities offered by the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made grand promises of wealth and universal well-being to its vast citizenry, all of which hinge upon the near flawless production of the most anticipated event in the history of the Middle Kingdom.

Can the government contain the political powder-keg over which it rules? Will the world accept a Chinese superpower under Communist rule? History is hanging in the balance and nobody (least of all the CCP) knows what to expect in 2008, but I certainly look forward to sharing my thoughts on how America, and the West generally, should respond to the emergence of a more powerful and confident Chinese people.

I also welcome the submissions of papers, presentations, essays or videos anyone would like to contribute. Below I have embedded a great presentation compiled by a dear friend of mine, Victor Lang, who is a native of Hong Kong. Victor and I share many similar interests, such as China-Africa relations, international perception of Chinese politics, and domestic censorship by the CCP and corporations it intimidates to comply with their ridiculous media policies.

Happy New Year to all China Wakes readers and a toast to what will hopefully be remembered as the greatest year in the history of mankind's largest and oldest civilization.

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China sees US as a partner in future space exploration initiatives...

Image via WikipediaSPACE.com -- China Hopes for Place on Space Station

The Chinese have announced that they hope to be included in the international space station (ISS) project, which has been in operation since 2000 under the control of US, Russian and European astronauts. China has only recently become the third nation to launch a man into space on its own, and if it joins the ISS it would be the 17th nation participating in the long-term orbital experimentation platform. The US has thus far relented from including the Chinese in ISS missions because of the ideological stigma of a strong Communist Chinese space program operating as an equal with NASA and its now democratic Russian partners.

China frightened many in the scientific community last year when it obliterated an aging weather satellite with a ground-based anti-satellite missile. It was the first time any nation, the US and Russia included, had conducted such a test of a land-based missile and has fueled concerns around the world that we are on the verge of an arms race in space. Such experiments can pose real threats to the long-term space exploration capability of mankind, as debris clutters and inhibits near-Earth orbit, making missions to the furtherest reaches of the solar system more complicated and dangerous.

China will launch a lunar probe to map the moon's surface later this month, though they are significantly behind their Japanese rivals, who have just this week seen their lunar orbiter around Earth's only natural satellite. The regional space race will become even more heated once India launches their lunar module next April.

Tags: China, China Space Program, International Space Station, Japan, India, Lunar Explorer

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Internet forum from People's Daily offers elaborate and engaging glimpse into Chinese perception of US post-9/11 policy...

Chinadaily BBS - Powered by Discuz! Board

"Subject: A nation bickering about smoking while Iraq burns"

A discussion forum feed published by a People's Daily blogger named Shanhuang on the day of the US invasion of Iraq that I stumbled upon this evening is full of some very astute and disconcerting thoughts on the US and the priorities of American culture. With the fourth anniversary of "Shock and Awe" passing just yesterday (with little notice since the media is more concerned over the Justice Dept. and the who is Anna Nicole Smith's baby-daddy) this thread provides a voluminous log of the day-to-day and week-to-week sway of the cerebral tides between the different factions that emerged around the world in the post-September 11th world, and has once again set me thinking about the perception of the US in China.

I have written recently on the flawed perception of the Chinese amongst nearly every person within Middle Class America. I fret regularly to my friend Victor about what I feel will be the ultimate determinant of whether or not China and the US will come to a peaceful understanding and cultural diffusion (a la Japan and South Korea)-- the oft overlooked and underestimated possibility that there could arise a jealousy and spite for China across the United States if/when the US loses its economic stranglehold on the global markets.

Political realities and national interests across the Western Hemisphere will undoubtedly result in a unified resistance to the first substantial threat posed it by another civilization in several centuries time. The lack of careful consideration of the how to best manage/balance the Sino-American alliance by the American press (which I will elaborate on in a subsequent post) coupled with a preoccupation with a sensationalized conflict in the Middle East among concerned citizens (a.k.a. voters) is likely to be remembered as the primary catalyst of opportunistic political pandering by politicians who were similarly complacent, or more accurately negligent, in their careful consideration of the countries interests.

An America that exists under the institutions of our founding Republican principles will not, and must not, allow China to establish an alternative political model under the banner of Mao, even if the guiding wisdom which underlies it be rooted in a less draconian code. There are several reasons why I believe this is an indispensable maxim, the least of which is my nostalgia for the greatness of the the colonial founder's experiment. However, the Chinese must also never become a casualty of US domestic politics in the same manner that the Soviet Union became the issue of greatest concern and source of ideological alliances during the bygone, bi-lateral era of the Cold War, because if the Chinese are anything, they are VERY proud (similar to most Americans as this article makes clear).

Consequently, I see the future of Chinese politics (in light of both the China and the United State's long term interests) through the lens of Japan's US-styled (authored) system, which is basically a rotation of leadership of one political party, the LDP, through the occasional polling of the general populace. So essentially, the political realities faced by the US in the far Pacific Rim as they compete in the 21st century global economy have the potential to be at once unified, at least stylistically between the Japanese and Chinese peoples. However, one need not get too close before the glaring differences in lifestyle and social values- as well as the echo's of bitter diplomatic rifts stemming from Japanese aggression at the outset of the 20th century- rush into view and cloud the thoughts of men tasked with forgetting about these issues and getting on with the jobs of making peace and creating wealth.

It is so easy to forget about China these days, as it seems the only region of the world that is worthy of the media's time, well at least the US media. So many thoughts are provoked by just this one statement; thoughts that send the mind irrecoverably into the depths of my political consciousness. With hope, this issue can soon emerge from suppression and regain its importance on the mantle of US foreign policy, in the spot now occupied by the criminal files of radical Islamic terrorists and politicians, where it will soon so apparently belong.

Report: Legislation Could Stop Chinese Censorship - CIO News Alerts - Blog - CIO

Report: Legislation Could Stop Chinese Censorship - CIO News Alerts - Blog - CIO

I think the ideas put forth in this post on CIO magazine's blog, which entertain the possibility of legislation resticting US companies from self-censoring their content on their foreign based services, are very intriguing (as well as consistent with the principles of our foreign policy since the end of WWII- anti-Communist). However, I doubt Microsoft and Google are going to be thrilled about the possibility of being forced to shut down their entire Chinese operation. Can these companies, and the US market withstand the impact of a confrontation between Capitol Hill and Wall Street over the fate of the Chinese nation? Can the Chinese government justify its suppression of the freedom of information when the issue comes before the international media? There are hundreds, maybe thousands of possible outcomes of such a bold policy initiative in Washington- but I have to admit, there are a great many that could further the revolutionary objectives of true democrats around the world, all of whom see a bright future for a China freed of the crimson shroud cast by its draconian government. The Chinese are excused to govern their country as they wish, but the free world must stay united in the pursuit of a world united in adherence to the progression of democratic sovereignty in every country in the world. To fail to do so, would be a failure to safegaurd the legitimacy of our philosophy of government as it meets its most formidable foe since the annialation of the fascists in WWII.

Chinese In Africa

BBC NEWS | Business | China defends its African relations

If there is one continent in the world that still elicits feelings of uncertainty in the minds of global political and economic leaders it is unquestionably Africa. The cradle of civilization now faces rampant disease, famine, violence and economic malaise, while Western diplomats sit on their thumbs on the upper-east side and squabble over the merits of peacekeeping missions to halt genocidal slaughter in Sudan. For decades UN policy has utterly failed the people it was established to benefit above any other, and no end to the destitution is in sight, at least until recently.

There is no government in the world more experienced with and successful in the implementation of development policy than the Chinese. Its population has demanded that its leaders climb down from their perch in Beijing and travel to the villages, so as to better understand the nature of poverty and conceive of realistic and effective policies to combat its debilitating consequences. Well, the proof is in the pudding.

The Chinese economy is booming, its peasantry is becoming increasingly self-sufficient and educated, and few people would argue that the future for the Chinese people is not bright and their international prestige and influence not growing. This leaves Western leaders in the precarious position of having to confront a Communist government, who's success challenges the legitimacy of their own democratic systems as they battle for the hearts and minds of impoverished, war torn countries in the Middle East, which are far more valuable to their self-interest than trying to tackle the complicated problems that plague the African continent.

It seems logical to me that governments in the developed world both feel threatened by the rapid ascendancy of such a formidable competitor, but I doubt that they have the resources necessary to combat the Chinese as they begin to spread their wings and establish friendships with countries that have felt slighted by the West for years. Therefore, I think it would be in the West's self-interest to allow the Chinese to expand into Africa unabated, so as to both relieve themselves of the distraction it poses to progress on initiatives currently under way elsewhere, as well as to make sure the Chinese do not become too ambitious for their own good but rather stay focused on international projects that they are best suited to manage.

The Chinese are well aware of where their comparative advantages lie, and I don't think they are eager to bite off more responsibility than they can chew.  We will have to wait and see how the US and other governments engage the Chinese, but with any hope they will be viewed as a partner who shares our goals of global prosperity and alleviation of destitution around the world. Until we are given a reason to feel otherwise, it would be both irresponsible and ignorant to act otherwise.

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BBC NEWS | Technology | Web users urged on China policy

BBC NEWS | Technology | Web users urged on China policy

There is nothing that I find more abhorrent in the prevailing ethical standards of corporate American than their compliance with internet and media censors around the world. They seem to have no understanding of how valuable their services are to the people of the world, who if denied access to these services would without question demand a change in government policy. Suppose Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others were to all say that is it, we are closing shop until we are allowed to do our job, which is proliferating the world's information to every human being on the planet. This is a force of globalization and technological modernization that no government should be permitted to resist. How would the Chinese government explain why the companies closed? How long would it take for the instinctively curious and ambitious Chinese populous to demand the government reinstate the companies free of censorship? I suspect the Communists are unwilling to risk their government over censorship of a world they can no longer deprive their citizens from exploring. It is the people's decision whether or not they choose to embrace western values and liberal political ideas, the party should fundamentally understand that they must concede this soon before they are subverted by a sudden embarrassment like the one I just articulated and lose their legitimacy. It has happened to every Chinese government in the last 1000 years, and if the historic success rate of Communism is any indication this long streak of total collapse is bound to continue.